Sometimes you just gotta laugh … and look at the positives!!
Erma Bombeck who was known as the patron saint of motherhood comedy said,
“If you can laugh at it, you can live with it!”
I needed a little humor this week and my daughter, Kailee, happily obliged…although, she didn’t mean to.
So, I thought I’d share a humorous personal story that ties in with the current issue of Parenting Special Needs Magazine. I’m talking about the unwritten rules… only this is about the unwritten rules of Facebook!
Kailee recently received a new iPad, and she’s been “learning” the Unwritten Rules of Facebook.
This morning as I was waking up and drinking my first sip of coffee, I checked my email messages from my phone; it said I had my a message from my daughter…who just so happened to be in her bedroom (I was sitting in the living room).
The message read as follows:
[1]
Dynamic Air: Providing your family the comfort and peace of mind you deserve! Call Today! (She even included their phone number!).
The message was spelled correctly, had quotation marks and an exclamation mark at the end of the sentence! I couldn’t understand what was going on. I was instantly thinking: “Our Air is working…I hadn’t thought of service…..so, why then was my daughter sending me this message?”, where did she get this message and why did she send it to me?
So, I simply asked her why she was sending me this ad?
She said, “It’s a coupon from the value pack that came in the mail”.
Kailee had copied that portion of their ad and posted it on my Facebook page (her way of sharing). Keep in mind; my Facebook page is public.
I had quite a laugh, and was very thankful that she didn’t send me the cosmetic surgery ad offering me breast enhancements or the “Help! I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up” ad (could you imagine if she did that? I wondered how many people would be frantic that she or I was injured!!), or the “Vape Shop” ad. At least she posted a message about air-conditioning!!
Needless to say, I had quite a laugh this morning over my coffee. You can’t make this stuff up….and that’s the truth!
Positive Take Away: She’s thinking about what to share on Facebook, and her reading and typing skills are improving. (I’ve also included a few more unwritten rules of Facebook along with screen shots that we’ve learned this summer).
More Unwritten Rules learned and, there are positive takeaways:
When you miss your old neighbors, don’t like all of their old pictures from years ago and repost them and “like” and comment on them; they will probably block you.
Positive Take Away: She’s learning to read and understand the date and year of posts.
[2]
If you want to send your mother a message about how much you love her and miss her, and wish that she was closer to you (even though she’s in the NEXT ROOM) you might want to send that in a “personal message” and not post it on her wall! After all, friends may worry or be concerned that her mother has left her.
Positive Take Away: She’s learning the difference between sending “personal” and “private” messages and what might be appropriate for each.
Don’t send 75 messages a day to one friend.
Positive Take Away: She is learning how much is too much before you start annoying others.
[3]
Sharing simple things like Happy Friday to friends is ok, or asking a quick, simple question won’t be offensive. I even provided her a list of question she could post to her friends. HOWEVER, I forgot to say “one question at a time” (she sent my parents and all her friends ALL OF THE QUESTIONS AT ONCE).
Positive Take Away: She learned to cut and paste the copy on Facebook posts on her own!!! Pretty good!
[4]
Remember Erma’s saying…
“If you can laugh at it, you can live with it.”
Enjoy this crazy adventure we’re all on; laughing and learning with our kids!
P.S. If you know of any more unwritten rules that we need to learn for Facebook, please share them with us!
Helpful Articles
- Why Teaching Self-Care Skills is Critical to Our Children’s Success [5]
- Puberty and Hygiene: How to Support Our Children [6]
- A Complete Guide on Dental Care for Children with Special Needs [7]
- The Importance of Teaching Children Body Safety [8]
- Summer Internet Surfing Keeping Kids Safe Online [9]
- Teaching Gratitude How to Teach Your Child Thankfulness [10]
- Five Ways to Cultivate Friendships [11]
- Expressing Feelings: Tips and Tricks for Children and Adults [12]
- Helping Children Succeed at Things They’d Rather Not Do [13]
- The Power of the Piggy Bank | Important Life Skills Teaching About Money Management [14]